Giant Burrowing Cockroaches

Queensland has the heaviest and one of the largest cockroaches in the world; a slow-moving, subterranean beast from North Queensland called Macropanesthia rhinoceros. They live for up to 10 years in a container of sand with an occasional handful of dried leaves for food and a misting of water for moisture. They can be handled safely by the smallest child. They bear live young and breed well in captivity. They are found in north Queensland near Mareeba, Mt Garnet, Cooktown, and Townsville. There is an excellent, illustrated article on these cockroaches in Australian Geographic No. 18 (Apr-June 1990).

Giant burrowing cockroach

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